First Megaupload, Then FileSonic: Another File-Sharing Site Shuts Down

In the wake of the U.S. Government's shutdown of file-sharing website Megaupload, another site, FileSonic, has suspended their file-sharing services, allowing users to only upload and retrieve files that they have uploaded personally. All sharing functionality on FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally, the company said in a note on its Web site.

The company did not say why they have disabled sharing, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the move comes a few days after the government shut down Megaupload, which had similar policies and programs to FileSonic.

FileSonic, based in Great Britain and Hong Kong, which Megaupload also was, partnered with Vobile Inc. to filter copyrighted material, and FileSonic's website says that Vobile's digital fingerprinting technology will allow FileSonic to block your copyrighted materials from being illegitimately shared through its service.

However, FileSonic had a rewards program much like Megaupload's, which paid users when their files were downloaded. In the Department of Justice indictment of Megaupload, the government stated that [Megaupload] allegedly paid users whom they specifically knew uploaded infringing content and publicized their links to users throughout the world.

TorrentFreak, a popular torrent file-sharing website, called FileSonic ceasing their sharing service a big deal. Filesonic isn't just some also-ran in the world of cyberlockers, TorrentFreak said. The site is among the top 10 file-sharing sites on the Internet, with a quarter billion page views a month.

The U.S. Justice Department and FBI shut down the popular Internet locker service MegaUpload on Thursday and announced indictments against seven people on charges related to online piracy, including racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, and conspiring to commit money laundering.